Morris County GOP freeholder primary provides a mix of visions

John Munson/The Star-LedgerHank Lyon, pictured in June 2011 file photo, is running unopposed in the Morris County Freeholder Republican Primary in a special election.

The Morris County Republican primary for freeholder brings together nine candidates with different ideas on how to improve government.

All agree spending must be kept under control and all support greater governmental transparency.

The only incumbent running in the June 5 election is Freeholder Director William Chegwidden, who is seeking his third term. Chegwidden, a high school teacher and mayor of Wharton, said his institutional knowledge puts him in a unique position to serve Morris County and guide the freeholder board.

Two other incumbents whose terms are expiring are not seeking re-election. John Murphy is stepping down from the board, and Gene Feyl, whose name remains on the ballot, has dropped out of the race after taking a job as executive director of the Highlands Council. That leaves only Chegwidden and Freeholder Doug Cabana with more than two years experience on the board that oversees a $317 million budget.

The other eight candidates are: John Cesaro of Parsippany, David Scapicchio of Mount Olive, John Krickus of Washington Township, Ted Hussa of Denville, Jeremy Jedynak of Rockaway Township, Charles Germershausen of Florham Park and Alison Deeb and Ed France, both of Morristown.

They are vying for three of the board’s seven seats. Another seat also is open, but Hank Lyon is running for it unopposed in a special election.

Chegwidden, 49, highlighted Morris County’s proactive budgeting — including reducing the work force by 17 percent through attrition over the last six years, and a solar-power initiative that is expected to save $3.8 million over 15 years — as ways the county has controlled spending. And because the open-space tax has been cut by the freeholders for five consecutive years, he said, the total tax levy was reduced three consecutive years, from 2009 to 2011.

Star-Ledger file photoMorris County Freeholder candidates competing in the Republican primary, L to R, John Cesaro of Parsippany, David Scapicchio of Mount Olive and John Krickus of Washington Township.

Krickus, a former Washington Township mayor, Scapicchio, a former Mount Olive mayor, and Cesaro, a Parsippany councilman, are running as a team for the three open seats. Their position is that in the last six years "Morris County’s overburdened taxpayers have been forced to pay for more than a $40 million increase in county government."

The budget has in fact gone up $40 million — about 15 percent — in the last six years. That equates to a 2.5 percent increase each year. It does not take into account the open-space tax cuts, which, Krickus said, are nice, but voters should not forget that expenditures have increased.

He also said the 2.5 percent average increase was not good enough.

"It’s infinitely higher than zero, which is what Somerset County has achieved over the last four years," Krickus said. "Why has Somerset County achieved zero growth? Maybe we need to send a diplomatic mission to Somerville to find out."

Krickus, 52, pointed out Somerset freeholders made 311 line-item cuts to their budget, and Morris County could benefit from that kind of scrutiny.

"People have experienced it in their own lives," he said. "Everyone has had to do their job much more efficiently. They want to see the same thing from government."

Cesaro stressed the important role a freeholder plays.

"We are the crutch," he said Thursday at "Meet the Candidates Night" in Morristown. "We administer. We need to change how we look at the budget."

Star-Ledger file photoCandidates in the Morris County Freeholder Republican primary, pictured from left to right, Ted Hussa of Denville and Alison Deeb and Ed France, both of Morristown.

Cesaro suggested a more readily available, transparent budget that would clearly delineate for taxpayers where each nickel is spent.

If elected, he said, "it won’t be uncommon for me to ask hours of questions on one budget detail because it’s (taxpayer) money."

Hussa, a former Denville mayor, said his municipal record proves he is the fiscal conservative.

Hussa said he would like to see the open-space tax further reduced from 1.25 cents per $100 of assessed value to between 0.25 cents and 0.5 cents because most of the best properties have already been bought.

Small municipalities with no open space left to buy are feeding a county account from which they can never withdraw, Hussa said.

The former mayor also said he would encourage each town to join the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System, a voluntary incentive program that encourages community floodplain management in exchange for reducing flood-insurance premiums.

Denville, Hussa said, benefited from his leadership on this issue and other communities in Morris should follow his lead.

France promised to lead the freeholders in a new direction if elected. The 58-year-old Morristown resident has twice run unsuccessfully for freeholder — in 2000 and 2006 — but he said a change of thinking is what the county needs.

File photoWilliam Chegwidden

The candidates, he said, are too myopic, singularly focused on cutting instead of concerning themselves with how to grow.

"I know exactly what needs to be done," he said. "If I’m elected, I will personally sit down with anyone who wants to start a business. The bottom line will be helping them network."

France wants to bring together employers with those looking for jobs and those who are in the market for products and services.

"Freeholders could put a big dent in unemployment that way," he said. "Most people who have a good job got it through networking."

France said he would like to move the freeholders’ work session, which takes place every other Wednesday, to a Saturday morning so it would be easier for the public to attend.

"There are two train rides," France said. "There is the taxpayer and then there is the elected officials. If you want to vote for someone who is with the people, that’s me. I’m over here."

Deeb, a Morristown councilwoman, said she believes the county is on the right track but there is room for improvement.

She suggested a comprehensive audit that would look to see if there are any county services that duplicative or redundant.

Deeb, 49, also touted her experience as the only Republican on the Morristown council, which has forced her to work with those who don’t always agree with her point of view.

"I think that will help me out a lot because we may not all agree, but at the end of the day you have to find common ground," Deeb said.

She said she was most proud of her work for the county-owned and operated off-leash dog park.

Germershausen, a Florham Park councilman, a military veteran and retired police officer, said he was proud of his work with seniors. He said he believes he has the big heart and cool temperament it takes to lead the county.

Jedynak, 35, said he believes government needs to better streamline technology to lower costs and stressed he would refuse the freeholder salary of $25,000 and health benefits. He also said he would decline to enroll in the pension system.